BRS Assembly Whip KP Vivekananda questions CURE Act, alleges hasty passage

BRS Assembly Whip KP Vivekananda Goud questioned the haste in passing the CURE Act and said the party was consulting legal experts on challenging it. He also raised concerns over property taxes and alleged excessive powers for the Chief Minister.

Hyderabad: BRS Assembly Whip KP Vivekananda Goud questioned the haste in passing the CURE Act, alleging that the 465-page legislation was pushed through the Assembly after just a day’s discussion without adequate study or consultation with political parties. He announced that the BRS was consulting legal experts to challenge the Act in court.

He said it was impossible to properly read and debate a 465-page Bill in about half an hour and alleged that the government had forcibly pushed the legislation in the Assembly in undue haste. He objected that the 1995 municipal law was being replaced without adequately considering the views of all parties.

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Addressing the media at Telangana Bhavan on Tuesday, Vivekananda warned that the new law could place a heavy burden on poor and middle-class residents, particularly those in the city’s outskirts, by creating scope for sharp increases in property taxes. He also alleged that the legislation concentrated excessive powers with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, leaving the proposed three corporation chairpersons and even legislators with little authority.

He alleged that the government was seeking to exploit Hyderabad city for revenue rather than strengthening civic administration. He questioned the need for the new law when basic services such as street lighting and mosquito control were allegedly inadequate.

Meanwhile, Kukatpally MLA Madhavaram Krishna Rao demanded a judicial inquiry by a sitting judge into the irregularities in the 22-A prohibited lands list. He stated that Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy made false accusations against him, BRSLP deputy leader T Harish Rao and former IAS officer Jayaprakash Narayana in the Assembly, for raising the issue that posed a threat to the rights of scores of property owners living in authorised layouts in Kukatpally constituency.

He stated that he took up the issue with the Chief Minister, the Revenue Minister and also the officials repeatedly, but in vain. He said the officials were not taking up registrations despite the court orders. He challenged the government to lift his suspension and allow him to present documents in the Assembly.